Global Child and Adolescent Height Trends (1985–2019)

Mean height of children aged 5–19 by sex from 1985 to 2019, with 95% uncertainty intervals, from the NCD-RisC Lancet 2020 study.
# Sex
Year
Age group
Mean height
Mean height lower 95% uncertainty interval
Mean height upper 95% uncertainty interval
Mean height standard error
+
1 Boys 1985 5 105.649051907163 105.159634784185 106.172845967581 0.258115468881896
2 Boys 1985 6 111.635352279368 111.190655330914 112.078229912474 0.227526224720303
3 Boys 1985 7 117.189490816527 116.778452633891 117.595601312668 0.210784409059478
4 Boys 1985 8 122.438103089184 122.05442564335 122.825656620023 0.199455168402376
5 Boys 1985 9 127.499794226058 127.131516641862 127.885537240298 0.194521725903132
6 Boys 1985 10 132.708098710216 132.348383984949 133.076987066608 0.187002285793161
7 Boys 1985 11 137.851396719953 137.49560104842 138.226860079261 0.186425086566355
8 Boys 1985 12 143.666854322331 143.301068892286 144.04197441412 0.191759204933721
9 Boys 1985 13 150.399507991058 150.013084868398 150.788763652228 0.197734572739209
10 Boys 1985 14 156.700319445207 156.296445536936 157.109214624245 0.206760426809986
11 Boys 1985 15 161.448063243123 161.030729681555 161.856797488686 0.208374899318063
12 Boys 1985 16 164.298831793834 163.860760111192 164.739643247007 0.218638046726238
13 Boys 1985 17 166.033273559121 165.577413705513 166.493445177835 0.230721405928717
14 Boys 1985 18 167.120177445863 166.628614667906 167.604440504291 0.245360692897116
15 Boys 1985 19 168.033587159066 167.510114411581 168.547378066797 0.263851151327143
16 Boys 1986 5 105.708954865298 105.218835486081 106.230248988012 0.257771695257733
17 Boys 1986 6 111.69069062681 111.255355116386 112.133559334795 0.226467241855311
18 Boys 1986 7 117.232121121739 116.82505897208 117.640152290628 0.208762405102487
19 Boys 1986 8 122.46589983186 122.077890460602 122.851093807015 0.19687561881179
20 Boys 1986 9 127.518652640324 127.152428888185 127.897226028223 0.190496447744932
21 Boys 1986 10 132.732890425319 132.382262886944 133.091282032912 0.181914793225486
22 Boys 1986 11 137.885404549992 137.54273709861 138.247120561368 0.179727144828716
23 Boys 1986 12 143.71849845132 143.372172762168 144.0801588263 0.183092554898357
24 Boys 1986 13 150.461556602379 150.095494514111 150.83234275585 0.187923628938257
25 Boys 1986 14 156.762318904571 156.378520609763 157.150058377853 0.196347955286518
26 Boys 1986 15 161.508804059671 161.123262230028 161.900535670062 0.198320336214446
27 Boys 1986 16 164.353437040416 163.933945403695 164.764075503615 0.207125286628405
28 Boys 1986 17 166.085655165601 165.657042725985 166.523091698524 0.216896372957929
29 Boys 1986 18 167.159308509475 166.711975417664 167.608474210118 0.227113262347009
30 Boys 1986 19 168.061934361673 167.590001539785 168.521238189177 0.236640094666734
31 Boys 1987 5 105.769151044636 105.276081320124 106.289426800673 0.25675107888221
32 Boys 1987 6 111.750491991534 111.315292002586 112.19749337339 0.225304317859248
33 Boys 1987 7 117.287007997422 116.888404446168 117.69129046862 0.20683430433115
34 Boys 1987 8 122.508051450351 122.12666357648 122.889315129982 0.194085801622337
35 Boys 1987 9 127.546407043945 127.177486708896 127.909709674737 0.187376729417584
36 Boys 1987 10 132.74691133481 132.402291550642 133.09325058955 0.176991789833349
37 Boys 1987 11 137.898057609797 137.564362674726 138.245358517172 0.174397367627173
38 Boys 1987 12 143.741006623991 143.40042492665 144.09542536717 0.176305274966766
39 Boys 1987 13 150.503784356769 150.160632612107 150.857311795246 0.179195937765938
40 Boys 1987 14 156.819087055446 156.448174854018 157.187036440905 0.186469991170591
41 Boys 1987 15 161.583541643874 161.217446078835 161.959826909438 0.188423967147914
42 Boys 1987 16 164.421448344128 164.040138492733 164.809101857225 0.196793569682287
43 Boys 1987 17 166.149720026316 165.743211493884 166.560524400529 0.204949794926345
44 Boys 1987 18 167.222551042826 166.804800531144 167.642866121245 0.212967027190992
45 Boys 1987 19 168.111168061024 167.684334546435 168.539926228502 0.217812797710776
46 Boys 1988 5 105.826973753013 105.335395747298 106.344630080675 0.255539909584219
47 Boys 1988 6 111.811650552217 111.383811842893 112.258565151982 0.223396471659689
48 Boys 1988 7 117.347774331407 116.953305672272 117.748160930172 0.204812030829528
49 Boys 1988 8 122.564185007071 122.191433526371 122.940070410017 0.191371525415939
50 Boys 1988 9 127.590289231843 127.225275901611 127.955290157824 0.183989008747247
51 Boys 1988 10 132.761984865398 132.418508554641 133.104118045582 0.173324498233618
52 Boys 1988 11 137.900257194925 137.574263541736 138.23377918791 0.169428657339721
53 Boys 1988 12 143.742871790523 143.417370704677 144.088824778159 0.170936974330388
54 Boys 1988 13 150.518447209669 150.187397509676 150.861575112323 0.17230840086405
55 Boys 1988 14 156.858016454093 156.507383398977 157.208001476206 0.177777971929904
56 Boys 1988 15 161.661084597245 161.308875789173 162.017354108993 0.178619236266381
57 Boys 1988 16 164.501702999501 164.146798574831 164.864739731454 0.186543391440454
58 Boys 1988 17 166.226043023084 165.846898385276 166.616072412087 0.194076188739058
59 Boys 1988 18 167.296162530294 166.904573569433 167.690275877549 0.200688618980103
60 Boys 1988 19 168.182114138644 167.779465728991 168.58451802814 0.203485028075154
61 Boys 1989 5 105.883135992642 105.397650002007 106.392604360812 0.254351711834267
62 Boys 1989 6 111.870458294428 111.449627075685 112.311152881594 0.221500632996649
63 Boys 1989 7 117.410194368776 117.024351425804 117.803713243711 0.20218096773751
64 Boys 1989 8 122.626643182319 122.263006553815 122.990653161048 0.188590453436232
65 Boys 1989 9 127.648641404798 127.293538975638 127.996725203117 0.180714628855599
66 Boys 1989 10 132.787239765603 132.446285129592 133.126503027367 0.169743838298006
67 Boys 1989 11 137.907338182669 137.583926718099 138.234913946042 0.165635926185265
68 Boys 1989 12 143.738736184061 143.424980296669 144.074411154347 0.166050484635326
69 Boys 1989 13 150.517027904626 150.197815308888 150.852820547195 0.16696473361569
70 Boys 1989 14 156.874035248582 156.544683110098 157.21117139355 0.170859608559523
71 Boys 1989 15 161.723761077515 161.394162875822 162.057132456535 0.169418249863134
72 Boys 1989 16 164.581915476328 164.245349486582 164.929231830612 0.176376936226135
73 Boys 1989 17 166.312652633371 165.963514945773 166.685757748808 0.183355445401791
74 Boys 1989 18 167.380035873939 167.019541376808 167.758114184012 0.189436547668413
75 Boys 1989 19 168.260198545503 167.887098253508 168.639738180295 0.191083771951479
76 Boys 1990 5 105.946299433477 105.471848757869 106.45601997558 0.253129828225356
77 Boys 1990 6 111.927536321093 111.516216124282 112.360649610115 0.219670059695854
78 Boys 1990 7 117.470285084163 117.088310219359 117.861260308604 0.199743754144779
79 Boys 1990 8 122.690847249226 122.332157047441 123.047192231844 0.185413630067036
80 Boys 1990 9 127.713390642428 127.364928658045 128.053836846203 0.177389409778278
81 Boys 1990 10 132.825309208211 132.496618191717 133.151863692462 0.166637119083838
82 Boys 1990 11 137.9302018805 137.611744385106 138.245695909952 0.161994159617775
83 Boys 1990 12 143.74532076049 143.434835313953 144.068476463224 0.162201523417943
84 Boys 1990 13 150.5153318289 150.201300030103 150.840708820875 0.162005996027161
85 Boys 1990 14 156.878705001457 156.562694283152 157.209652012049 0.165477800247459
86 Boys 1990 15 161.758347103379 161.441825235954 162.078253878432 0.161762357418939
87 Boys 1990 16 164.645377168364 164.318927635017 164.976893718576 0.167027204854568
88 Boys 1990 17 166.398294526682 166.067038222545 166.744310370363 0.172860875357736
89 Boys 1990 18 167.473135789771 167.130849188989 167.832701628891 0.178532946054496
90 Boys 1990 19 168.346115458753 167.99636752183 168.701087303122 0.179784801885882
91 Boys 1991 5 106.027039489176 105.549233812507 106.540617642153 0.251851961543351
92 Boys 1991 6 111.99257748568 111.577418613864 112.422171761066 0.217976291211462
93 Boys 1991 7 117.529647390193 117.147643641457 117.915966149087 0.197472360631005
94 Boys 1991 8 122.753721544782 122.398737125648 123.106311961185 0.182493283175752
95 Boys 1991 9 127.78101036573 127.438646067306 128.119810566228 0.173841831343392
96 Boys 1991 10 132.872604272988 132.549191876185 133.194190260356 0.163663874327758
97 Boys 1991 11 137.970915485683 137.660112118076 138.285935504994 0.15897915445162
98 Boys 1991 12 143.772497902272 143.466426109285 144.087387456198 0.158516183882949
99 Boys 1991 13 150.528582210538 150.217177930659 150.841035885763 0.158153204718318
100 Boys 1991 14 156.886291802313 156.575657754088 157.203098544308 0.160340997248008

Global Child and Adolescent Height Trends (1985–2019) — AI Analysis

Global mean height at age 19 rose 2.8 cm for boys and 2.1 cm for girls between 1985 and 2019

Younger children gained the most: 5-year-olds grew ~4 cm taller, nearly double the gain seen at age 19

Key Findings

  • Boys at age 19 grew from 168.0 cm to 170.8 cm globally (+2.8 cm) over 34 years, while girls went from 156.5 cm to 158.6 cm (+2.1 cm)
  • Height gains were largest for the youngest children (age 5: +4.0 cm for boys, +4.1 cm for girls) and smallest for 19-year-olds
  • The gender gap at age 19 widened slightly from 11.5 cm in 1985 to 12.2 cm in 2019, meaning boys benefited more from secular height increases
  • Height gains were remarkably steady — roughly 0.8 cm per decade at age 19 — with no sign of a plateau by 2019

Key Findings

  • Boys and girls are nearly identical in height until age 10, then diverge sharply — by 19, boys are 12.2 cm taller on average (2019)
  • The gender height gap at 19 widened from 11.5 cm (1985) to 12.2 cm (2019), meaning boys gained height faster than girls
  • Height gains were largest for younger children (4+ cm at age 5) and smallest for older adolescents (2–3 cm at age 19), suggesting improvements in early nutrition
  • Girls' growth essentially stops by age 14–15 (adding only ~1.5 cm after 15), while boys continue growing until 17–18

Visualizations

Gender Height Gap at Age 19
Growth Curves: 1985 vs 2019
Height Gain by Age (1985 vs 2019)
Adult Height Trends (Age 19)

This dataset contains 1,050 records across 7 fields: Sex, Year, Age group, Mean height, Mean height lower 95% uncertainty interval, Mean height upper 95% uncertainty interval, and 1 more.

1050 rows · 7 columns · 2026-03-24

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Global Child Adolescent Height Trends 1985 2019

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